The Dead Man’s Simulator

After arriving in Runan, Shen Li quickly made his first move—he purchased land deeds at the very heart of the trade district. These plots weren't just valuable; they were historically reserved for the top-ranking noble families.

But thanks to Shen Li's earlier massacre—where two first-grade martial artists had died—those families were now shadows of their former selves. Wealthy, yes, but defenseless. In truth, they were little more than children guarding treasure.

Under Shen Li's quiet pressure—and the eager assistance of nearby opportunists—the families caved and sold their land.

Still, not everything went according to plan.

Though Shen Li now held prime land in the city, the mining rights—his true goal—were not given to him. Instead, in a suspicious move, the two weakened families transferred their mining shares to three unrelated clans, ones with no prior involvement in the gold mines.

Shen Li stood overlooking a scroll of deeds, frowning slightly.

"Well… at least the seeds of suspicion are deeply rooted now," he said calmly. "In this environment, none of them will dare unite under a single banner."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"But that doesn't mean I'll stop playing with them."

Before making his next move, Shen Li turned inward.

He had learned his lesson from the last simulation: even minor shifts could create massive ripples in the timeline. And in this case, he had done more than make ripples—he had slaughtered over a hundred people, including two first-grade martial artists. That had to lead to something… different.

"Let's see what the future holds now."

With a flick of his finger, he summoned the golden interface.

"System—show me the panel."

A faint hum echoed as glowing characters shimmered into the air, the simulation gateway once again ready to open.

Name: Shen LiRace: Human (Mutated)Lifespan: 21 / 3628

[20-Year Simulation Input Confirmed][Simulation Begins...]

[You continued as before—swiftly expanding your faction's strength. But this time, you made a clear decision: once your power was sufficient, you would initiate total war against one of the weaker factions holding a Yang Stone.]

[You aggressively entered the trade network, quickly surpassing mid-grade factions. Boldly, you even initiated minor skirmishes with top-tier families to demonstrate your strength.]

[This time, no one dared to move against you. In those few confrontations, you revealed enough of your power to make most factions hesitate. Your reputation grew, and fear followed.]

[But good times never last. Just as you predicted—mass deaths, particularly of first-grade martial artists, had not gone unnoticed. The chaos in Runan eventually reached Wuhan.]

[In response, the Wang family dispatched a quarter of the infamous Iron Army.]

[You understood immediately: staying meant death. You quickly began preparing your departure, arranging for your faction's assets to be scattered and hidden.]

[But before you could leave—they arrived.]

[The Wang family had suppressed the news of their mobilization. They came early—before anyone could warn you.]

[You stood unprepared.]

[You knew the truth: fleeing from a single Initiate was already nearly impossible. Escaping from multiple first-grade martial artists, backed by elite troops? That was suicide.]

[Faced with certain annihilation, you made a final decision—to gamble everything.]

[You activated your zombie-based abilities, forcing your body into a state between life and death. It weakened your strength, but gave you what you needed most: concealment.]

[Without hesitation, you threw yourself into an old well. You burrowed deep into the earth, sealing yourself under layers of stone and soil. Then, you shut everything down—your heartbeat, your lungs, your blood, even your thoughts.]

[You became a corpse in waiting.]

[You had no sense of time. But no one found you. That alone brought relief.]

[You began to cultivate—a method you developed in your undead state. Drawing in Yin energy from the earth, you nourished your flesh and soul in total silence.]

[After a week, you noticed something incredible: your soul, skin, meat, and even your organs were becoming stronger. You were astonished—it worked, even without fully dying.]

[You could feel each part evolving: your skin thickened, your muscles condensed, your internal organs hardened, and your soul slowly crystalized.]

[You decided to remain. This place—this deathlike stillness—was perfect.]

[Time blurred. With your body functions sealed, your perception warped. You guessed only two or three months had passed.][To be safe, you resolved to remain until you were certain a full year had passed.]

[Year 19]

[A subtle shift awakened you. You felt the one-year mark had finally come.]

[Slowly, you reactivated your vital points. Blood began to flow. Your heartbeat returned. You took your first breath in years.]

[You emerged from the well—and were met with silence.]

[Only then did you realize: you had been dormant for nearly 20 years.]

[Your wealth was gone. Your faction dissolved. Every loyal subordinate—dead, scattered, or missing.]

[But there was no grief. No fear.]

[Only clarity.]

[This was the first time you had survived past ten years in a simulation—and you understood why.][The undead dormancy, this corpse-like cultivation, had rendered you undetectable.]

[You had become something terrifying.]

[Year 20]

[You remain in your cultivation.][Your soul is colder, more resilient. Your muscles are unnatural in their density. Your organs feel like spiritual artifacts.]

[You decide to abandon the Yang Stone once more. There is no longer a need.]

1. Body and Cultivation Retention

(You retain the physical body and cultivation state reached during the simulation. This includes the strengthened undead physique, hardened organs, refined muscle mass, near-peak First-Grade martial power, and the ability to enter dormancy by suppressing vital functions. Twenty years soul cultivation)

2. Memory Imprint

(All insights, techniques, emotional impressions, and knowledge you acquired during the simulation are fully retained in your mind. This includes yin-based martial theory, undead cultivation techniques, combat tactics, and decades of lived experience.)

3. Land Deed – Core Sector (Runan County)

(A physical item from the simulation is materialized in the real world: the deed to a highly valuable piece of land in the center of Runan's trade district. It holds political, economic, and territorial value. Previously owned by a top noble family.)

Shen Li looked at the shimmering panel with a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

"Like I thought… there are always variables."

He clenched his jaw slightly and glanced at the environment around him—the stillness, the simulation fragments fading into white nothingness.

"I need to leave this place quickly. Also... what kind of state was I in to abandon the Yang Stone like that?"

Last time, when he had chosen Memory Imprint, he had gained a near-omniscient understanding of cause and effect. It sharpened him—but also subtly twisted his behavior. The increase in aggression, the instinctive brutality, the tendency to suppress his emotions… they were all small changes, but undeniable.

And now, the simulation had shown something even more disturbing.

He cultivated for nearly 20 years underground—alone—without even realizing it.

If someone told him tomorrow that he had unknowingly slept through a year in the real world?

He'd burn a city to the ground.

He couldn't risk that again.

"No," he whispered. "I can't choose Memory Imprint. Not this time."

Instead, his gaze turned to the first option.

"Well… this time the greatest progress was in the body."

"Let's take it."

[Reward Selected: Body and Cultivation Retention]

The moment he confirmed it, the world around him began to ripple—like reality itself was folding inward. Golden light surged from the panel and slammed into his chest.

Shen Li's breath hitched.

His skin ignited—not with fire, but with reality stitching itself together. Invisible threads wrapped around him, sewing the flesh of the simulation back into his real form.

Veins realigned. Bone density recalibrated. Muscles pulsed like dormant beasts awakening from hibernation.

His heart pounded once, then stopped—Then again—this time, with more weight.It had returned with the undead rhythm of Yin cultivation. Not a mortal heartbeat… but something colder. Deeper.

His organs, once soft and vulnerable, now felt like refined materials—neither spiritual treasures nor flesh, but something in between.

And within it all, his Qi flowed slower, thicker, heavier—each cycle carrying power no ordinary first-grade martial artist could hope to bear.

"This... is beyond monstrous," he whispered.

But then—something unexpected happened.

In the space of his soul—beyond flesh, beyond spirit—a door appeared.

Massive. Shadowed. Sealed.

It loomed silently at the edge of his consciousness.

He stepped toward it.

Tried to reach out.

He could only move one inch.

That was all.

But it was enough to feel it: something impossibly vast lay beyond the threshold.

And in that moment, Shen Li understood—his soul had reached the boundary of something greater.

Not just undead cultivation.

Not just martial progression.

A door to evolution. A door to something that didn't yet exist in this world.

It refused to open.

But he knew now: the next time he touched it… it might.

The simulation ended with silence.

Shen Li moved fast.

He headed straight to one of his few trusted stewards—Shao—a man he had kept close not because of brilliance, but because of loyalty... and perspective.

Shao stood at the entrance of the estate, eyes wide as Shen Li approached.

He was round-faced and wide-bodied, with beady eyes and a nose too small for his face—pig-like, one might say. Shen Li often looked at him and thought, with some comfort:

"At least there are people lower than me."

"Shao," Shen Li said briskly, "I need to leave for a few days. Maybe longer. A few months at most."

Shao blinked, clearly caught off guard.

"Sir, we just arrived here… I don't think it's appropriate for you to disappear right now."

Shen Li muttered a curse under his breath.

"If I don't leave now, the Wang family won't even leave my corpse behind."

But he didn't say that aloud.

Instead, his tone dropped.

"I have to investigate a hidden operation. I'll be crossing into a neighboring province. You'll need to hold things down while I'm gone."

He shoved a small leather-bound booklet under Shao's arm.

"Everything's already planned—what to buy, what to sell, which land to snatch if prices drop. Even if those rich brats sell out in a panic, I've marked the next best plots to claim."

Shao opened his mouth to respond, but Shen Li was already walking away.

Outside, a crimson-coated warhorse waited—massive, thick-legged, and restless.

The beast snorted, its breath fogging in the early air.

Red Hare—a real warhorse bred for first-class powerhouses. Shen Li had paid fifty gold coins for it, and even that was a bargain.

As he mounted the beast, he felt its back strain slightly beneath his weight. His massive, unnatural body wasn't easy to carry.

"Tch... I'm too heavy to fly across rooftops anymore," he muttered. "But I refuse to run through back alleys like some homeless dog."

If he had to flee—he would flee with grace.

With one sharp kick, Red Hare thundered forward—Shen Li vanishing down the main road, his heavy cloak fluttering behind him like a banner of war.

As Red Hare galloped beneath the early light, Shen Li squinted into the distance, calculating.

"If I'm not wrong…" he muttered, voice low beneath the wind, "the Wang family has already deployed their army."

He didn't slow the horse—but his direction changed.

"Best option? Run in the opposite direction."

Without hesitation, he veered off the main road and into the dense tree-line that marked the edge of the frontier forest. Red Hare's hooves crushed branches and scattered leaves as they pushed deeper into the shaded wilds.

After half an hour, Shen Li dismounted. He didn't want to leave a trail.

"Now… we run quietly."

He adjusted his cloak and began to move on foot—fast, but measured. Every step pressed into the earth with practiced control.

"I know where the Yang Stone is," he whispered to himself. "But even with my current strength… collecting it would be near impossible."

His eyes narrowed.

"Still, no one can predict the future. I'll keep my cards close. Who knows what opportunities will present themselves?"